1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a process for making metal salts (ionomers) from selected carboxylic acid-containing monoether and polyether polyol addition products. The present invention also relates to these ionomers as compositions-of-matter. The present invention further relates to polyurethane elastomers made from these ionomers along with the process for making these latter products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reactions of carboxylic acids with polyols are well known. The best known reaction between these compounds is the formation of polyester polyols wherein the acid groups react with the OH groups in the polyol.
Other reactions have also been taught. U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,077 (von Bonin et al.) teaches mixing olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acids with many types of polyols and then polymerizing the mixture with a free-radical former to produce a graft polymer. The preferred carboxylic acid (and the only acid used in the working examples) is acrylic acid, which homopolymerizes with itself. It should be noted that this reference does not teach the exact mechanism by which the "polymerization" reaction is carried out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,024 (Frentzel) teaches making surfactants suitable for incorporation in polyurethane foams by reacting under free radical polymerization conditions a polyoxyalkylene adduct and an esterified unsaturated dibasic acid containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms. The mechanism of this reaction is referred to as grafting, i.e. the reaction product is composed of the polyoxyalkylene adduct backbone to which are attached at intervals "grafts" of the unsaturated diester. See column 4, lines 46-51 of this patent. The patent further states that "In light of the known inability of unsaturated diesters of the invention to homopolymerize, it is believed that the mechanism of the reaction may involve the addition of single diester units to the polyoxyalkylene backbone" The patent specifically teaches that these surfactants may be used in phenolic resin foams, polyisocyanurate foams and polyurethane foams. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 475,785 (Frentzel) and 475,786 (Frentzel et al.), both filed on Mar. 16, 1983, teach making carboxylic acid-containing mono- and polyether polyol addition products by reacting maleic acid, fumaric acid, or mixtures thereof with at least one polyhydroxy-containing mono- or polyether compound (e.g. a polyether diol or triol) in the presence of a peroxy free radical initiator. These patent applications also disclose making polyurethane prepolymers and aqueous polyurethane dispersions from these carboxylic acid-containing mono- and polyether polyol addition products. It has now been found that these selected carboxylic acid-containing mono- and polyether addition products are particularly advantageous for making ionomers and polyurethane elastomers. The single acid units on the backbone provide adequate sites for reaction with metal ions to make ionomers, which in turn may be changed into polyurethane elastomers.